How to protect your bones as you age

Literally, everything hangs on your bones— so it makes common sense to take care of them if you want to remain active into your golden years. One of the rising risks the human body faces with the years is growing frailty, which makes you more vulnerable to broken bones. Actually, more than 300,000 Americans over 65 are hospitalized every year for hip fractures, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and more than half of them never completely recover.

Osteoporosis — a condition in which the bones become more spongy, weak and brittle — puts elderly people at higher risk for fractures. More than 53 million people in the United States. have been diagnosed with osteoporosis or have a high risk of developing the disease, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports.

A lot of people do not even know they have it until the harm is done and they undergo a break. But in spite of age or fitness level, there are things you can do to decrease the risk.

How to protect your bones as you age

“Bones are continuously breaking and rebuilding,” said Dr. Joshua Grahlman, founder of Clutch Physical Therapy in New York. “As you age, you are less flexible. Essentially, you want to keep stresses on your bones and keep moving so that you do not become

How does exercise increase bone density?

Doctors articulate that physical activity helps build bone tissue as well as muscle.

“Move it or lose it,” alleged Grahlman. “You just must be active. It does not have to be that long, so there is, in fact, no excuse to not move. Something is constantly beneficial.”

A combination of exercise activities can raise the benefits. Power training makes your muscles physically stronger; resistance workout may endorse bone development and guard against injury, and cardio exercises boost heart health.

To help to stay away from the premature bone loss, trainers, in addition, recommend incorporating intervals — short bursts of speed — into your exercises.

How to protect your bones as you age

“A little bit on a daily basis goes a long way,” Grahlman added. “Everything is in moderation. It isn’t good to run every day of the week and have that recurring stress on your bones continually. It isn’t ideal to strength train day by day.”

For best results, aspire for at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day.

Nutrition for healthy bones

What you consume is an important component of preserving bone health as you age. Experts advocate a diet that includes an abundance of fruits, low-fat dairy products, and vegetables.

Calcium is an important mineral that supports the human body to build bones and keep them healthy. Add in calcium-rich foods like milk, cheese, yogurt, spinach, broccoli, sweet potatoes, kale, green beans, and almonds into your diet. Some orange juices come equipped with calcium, too.

“Anything high in calcium is great,” Grahlman said. “It is actually more important to get it from a balanced source than it is to just have a lot of it.”

If you do not consume enough calcium on a daily basis, check with a doctor about whether you ought to add a supplement into your daily routine.

Bones as well need Vitamin D, which we get from sunlight and from foods like egg yolks, liver, fatty fish, and in equipped milk and dairy products. It assists the body to absorb calcium and build bone and muscle.

“Clearly you want Vitamin D, and sunlight is the number one source of that,” Grahlman said. “So going outside and being active will help your bone health from that viewpoint as well.”

How to protect your bones as you age

How lifestyle choices affect bone health

Lifestyle behavior and the choices you make can, in addition, affect your bone density over time.

Doctors say smoking can take a fee from your bones, so it is important to quit — or better yet, never start. According to the NIH, a study has revealed that smoking is a risk factor for developing osteoporosis and bone fractures later in life. Numerous studies, in addition, recommend that smoking has a negative impact on bone healing after a fracture.

Heavy alcohol use, mainly when it begins in teenage years, can as well increase the risk of brittle bones and osteoporosis. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), approximately 17 million U.S. adults have an alcohol use problem. The NIH calls extreme alcohol use a “considerable risk factor” for bone fractures — “counting the most serious kind, hip fracture.”

Believe it or not, lack of sleep and too much stress may have an effect on your bone density. A study looked at sleep quality and bedtimes for 915 men and women aged 45-65 and established that those who had poorer sleep or went to bed later were more probable to have lower bone density. Stress and depression may as well raise cortisol levels, which has been associated with bone loss.

There are as well some risk factors that you cannot control. Women are more probable to get osteoporosis than men, with white and Asian women being particularly vulnerable. Thinner women and those with a family history of osteoporosis also face a higher risk.

Certain medications, hormone deficiencies, and other medical conditions can also affect bone health. Be sure to talk to your doctor about these concerns.